Latchkey Isle
Latchkey Isle is a vast island and an afterlife for thieves, tricksters, and scoundrels. It id located in the Prime Innerlands of the Realm of Shyish. [1a]
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This page contains spoilers for: | Thieves' Paradise (novella) |
Here larcenous souls may be granted an eternal life of adventure and challenge, trying to match their wits against an ever changing land of dungeons, palaces filled with traps searching for hidden treasure. [1a] Each dawn the traps reset. [1d]
It lies to the east of Lethis, across the Dwindlesea. [1a]
Many of the gardens contain lakes and pools whose water tastes like wine, fruits abound and birds, cats and other animals relax. [1e]
Flora and Fauna
History
Throughout the Age of Myth it remained a glorious paradise, full of joy, adventure and fine things but as the Age of Chaos dawned, the great civilisations and cities that spawned the adventurer-rogues began to fall and so less and less souls travelled to the Isle. Soon the very memory of it began to fade and with it the powers of the Guardians. [1g]
In the Age of Sigmar, following the Necroquake - servants of Nagash sought to breach the underworld and Stormvault at its heart. [1a] Chill winds and mournful songs sounded through the city on occasion as Nagash sought to take control over the Underworld, draining souls away from the Latchkey Isle and into his own grasp. [1e]
Inhabitants
- Cacosphinx Statues, Guardians of the Isle and servants of the Prince of Cats. [1c]
- Revenants
- Jacques vil Granciere, Grey Jacques.[1d]
Locations
- Cityscape: Much of the island is composed of a vast jumbled expanse of buildings from across the Mortal Realms and the ages. Golden thatched longhalls stand next to vast ice palaces and crystal towers. Temples are decorated with precious jewels the size of Steamtanks whist opulent gardens decorate the expanse. Even the streets are paved with marble, shot through with gold and silver and embedded with more jewels [1c]
- Forests: Vibrantly coloured trees surround and twist their way through the city streets.
- Jeweled Mountains: Standing proud are artificial peaks composed entirely of jewels. [1c]
- Outer Wall: The island is surrounded by a vast, glowing multi-coloured stone wall that stretches high into the clouds. Smooth and polished it is virtually immune to attack - high explosives of the Ironweld Arsenal do not even leave a mark for instance. Every inch is marked with sigils and runes in an ancient version of the Trickster's Tongue. Reciting the right words can gain one entry. [1b]
- Tower of a Thousand Doors: Some of its many doors lead eventually to the Vault of Stars. [1f]
- Vault of Stars: A Stormvault which held amongst other things, the phylactery confining the soul of Valagharr. [1a] The Guardians of the Isle are unable to enter it. [1g]
Quotes
| The Latchkey Isle is said to be all but impossible to navigate. The very walls and the floor beneath your feet shift with every passing hour, as the city rearranges itself like a living puzzle box. It is haunted not just by the spirits of the dead, but by magical guardian-beasts and trickster-spirits. So you see, aelf, it is the perfect place to conceal something that mortal beings must never find
~Ammos Varon to Shevanya Arclis.[1a] An eternal contest of ingenuity and cunning. A reward for those who in life obeyed no laws and served no masters but their own lust for adventure. In death, they live like never before. ~Mysanta to Shevanya Arclis.[1c] |